Peter went on to lead Narnia to victory in many battles against the neighboring kingdoms or allies of the Witch who tried to take over Narnia once again. But none of the stress or anxiety that went into planning for battle and fighting his enemies could prepare the High King for one thing.
His wedding day.
Peter looked in the mirror and nervously let his attendants finish dressing him in his most royal robes.
"Pete, you would think we were sending you straight into the enemy lines," Edmund teased. "I have never seen you look quite so skittish."
"Believe me, Ed, going to battle would be much easier. At least then I know exactly what I'm doing." The young man turned in the mirror and tried to see himself from all angles. "Do I look all right?"
"Clearly, Elaine does not care about looks if she is marrying you."
Peter gave his brother a playful shove, but his teasing helped calmed his nerves in the way only Edmund could.
Oreius clopped into the room. "We are ready for you, my king."
Peter sighed. "This is ridiculous. I have led armies and fought countless battles. I should not be so nervous about something as trivial as a wedding."
"A wedding is anything but trivial, Your Majesty," Oreius gently admonished. "There is no shame in feeling nervous. Even the strongest men will go weak for their beloved ones."
"Have you seen her yet?"
"I have not, but I will just before she enters the Great Hall."
Peter took another deep breath. After six years of courting Elaine, he had finally decided to propose to her and they had spent the last year preparing for this day. Tomorrow would be Elaine's official coronation as a new Queen of Narnia.
"Come, Your Majesty," Oreius said.
Peter approached the centaur and allowed his most trusted general and comrade to place his golden crown onto his head.
"Your bride awaits."
"I fear I am going to be ill at any second," Elaine said nervously as Alaesa, Vaella, and Rayne put the finishing touches on her dress and veil.
Lucy smiled kindly and pressed her hand to the young woman's shoulder. "Just relax. This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life."
And it was. Elaine just wished that she didn't feel so apprehensive. Perhaps if the entire Narnian population in addition to travelers from some of the neighboring kingdoms weren't waiting to witness this event, she might not have felt so anxious.
As it was, she was going to have to get married in front of all those people.
Vaella put the last jewel into her hair and stepped back to admire the young woman.
Alaesa gently touched Elaine's trembling hand. "Look in the mirror, Elaine."
Elaine looked up and stared at her reflection. She'd been standing in front of the mirror all morning as the three naiad and dryad women helped her get ready, but she still couldn't believe the young woman staring back was really her.
"You are a beautiful, courageous, noble Daughter of Eve. Many of us have long awaited the day that High King Peter would take you as his wife, and the day has finally come. Every single one of us are eager for you to join him and his siblings in the royal line."
Susan smiled at her as she came up to stand next to her. "We could not have asked for a better wife for our brother."
Lucy eagerly took her hands. "Just think. In only a few hours, the three of us are going to be sisters!"
Elaine tightly hugged Susan and Lucy. "I could never have imagined that I would be able to join into such a wonderful family. You both mean the world to me." She then looked at the naiad and dryads. "And thank you all so much for all you have done for me over the years. I will continue to look to you for wisdom and guidance in the days ahead."
Alaesa smiled and bowed. "And we will continue to serve you as our Queen."
Mara and Killian entered the room and smiled when they saw Elaine in her wedding dress.
"My lady," Killian bowed. "It is time."
Elaine took one last deep breath and smiled back.
Alaesa, Vaella, and Rayne held Elaine's long train in their hands and helped her walk out into the hallway with Killian, Mara, Susan, and Lucy.
The wedding dress the naiads and dryads had created for her still stunned the young woman. It was by far the most extravagant dress she had ever seen in her life. The long-sleeved laced fabric flowed like water from her waist down to the train that trailed several feet behind her. White and silver beads rested on the bodice making it resemble a glistening river. Her long thin veil spilled from her hair where Vaella had intricately pinned it amongst her brown curls, and it rested against her back as if it were created from the wind itself. She expected something this large to weigh her down, but the fabric was so light and airy that it barely weighed anything at all.
The small group stopped at the entrance to the Great Hall where Oreius stood waiting for them. He bowed as the Queens approached him.
Elaine could probably count the number of times Oreius was pleased on one hand, so she was pleasantly surprised when he gave her a warm and approving smile.
"Are you ready, my lady?" he asked.
Elaine faced the double doors and smiled. "I am ready."
Trumpets sounded in the Throne Room.
Elaine slowly walked forward to the dais where the now five thrones sat proudly. Susan, Edmund, and Lucy stood in front of their respective thrones while Peter stood forward in the middle of the dais. She held her back erect as she made her way through the aisle the centaurs had created. They all lifted up their swords for her as she passed in front of them. Despite the whole of Narnia watching her, she didn't feel nervous.
Elaine tried to keep a serious face, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling when she met Peter's very proud eyes.
When she reached the dais, she slowly knelt down in front of him. Peter took the golden crown from the blue pillow in Killian's hands.
Having looked into Elaine's mirror to receive his answer, he held the crown over her and announced with the utmost confidence, "To the ancient Northwestern Ocean, I give you Queen Elaine…the Faithful."
He gently placed the crown upon her head. She looked up at him and smiled broadly.
Peter took her hands and helped her stand up again. "Once a Queen of Narnia, always a Queen. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."
Elaine gently kissed her husband as all of the Narnians began cheering, "Long live King Peter! Long live Queen Elaine! Long live King Edmund! Long live Queen Susan! Long live Queen Lucy!"
The only time Elaine had ever been happier was the moment she had become Elaine Pevensie.
"Hello, Meera!" Elaine greeted her horse in the stables.
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty!"
"So formal today, are we?"
"Are you hunting for the White Stag again today?"
Elaine smiled excitedly. "It was sighted mere moments ago near the Western Wood!"
"And you hope to be granted a wish?"
The now fully-grown woman rubbed the horse's mane. "Honestly, it matters not to me whether we catch it. I am just thankful to have a small reprieve from our royal duties and the constant training. Oreius and Killian have been stricter than ever since Peter and I were injured in our last battle."
Peter came up behind her and put his arms around her. "And I have told them time and time again that us getting injured was not our fault. If that Calormene hadn't been a complete fool with a sword…"
Elaine laughed as she turned and kissed him. "Where are the others?"
"Just behind me. I got ahead of them because I could not wait another moment to see you."
Peter kissed her again as she smiled.
"I told you they would be at it again," Edmund teased as he entered the stable. He quickly put his saddle on his horse and mounted him. "Come on, Philip. The girls can wait in the castle. I'll get the Stag myself."
Elaine gasped playfully. "If that is how you are going to be…" She mounted up onto Meera. "We shall just have to show him, won't we, Meera?"
Meera nudged Philip with her nose. "This is all because you talked King Edmund into entering that riding competition in Archenland a few years back."
"You are just upset that you and Her Majesty came in third place," Philip retorted.
Susan smirked from on top of her horse. "The White Stag is going to get away if you keep chattering like this."
Peter smiled and galloped out of the stable with the others right behind him. Elaine galloped up next to him as they made their way through the woods and after the White Stag.
The two of them smiled at one another lovingly. As the years had passed, their love for each other had only grown stronger with each passing day, and Peter made sure that his wife always knew just how much he loved her. Their marriage was even better than everything Elaine had ever envisioned.
After riding for nearly an hour, Philip slowed behind the others.
Edmund gently put his hand to his beloved horse's neck. "Are you all right, Philip?"
Panting, Philip turned his head a little. "Not as young as I once was," he admitted.
"Come on, Ed!" Susan called.
"Just catching my breath," Edmund told his sister as she rode back along with his other siblings.
Elaine noticed Philip breathing heavily, and she appreciated the fact that Edmund had said that he needed to catch his breath rather than his horse.
"Well, that's all we'll catch at this rate!"
"What did he say again, Susan?" Lucy asked.
"'You girls wait in the castle. I'll get the Stag myself'!"
The five of them laughed at Susan's poor imitation of her brother. By now, the White Stag was long gone, but it didn't really matter to any of the royals. Nothing was better than spending a few hours together out on horseback.
Their laughter stopped when they noticed something peculiar, and each of the Pevensies dismounted from their horses. A lit lamppost stood directly in the middle of the woods, the fire inside burning brightly though they were sure there was no one around to light it.
"What's this?" Peter asked. "It seems familiar."
"As if from a dream," Susan remarked.
"Or a dream of a dream," Lucy added. Her eyes lit up with recognition. "Spare Oom."
She quickly wandered off in another direction as if looking for something important.
"Lucy!" Peter called as they quickly followed after her.
"Not again!" Susan muttered.
"Lu?"
"Come on!" Lucy said eagerly.
As they continued to follow Lucy through a much denser part of the forest, the space suddenly began to get smaller and smaller and soon, they were no longer even running into trees.
"These aren't branches," Peter groaned.
"They're coats," Susan whispered.
Everyone started groaning and shouting as they toppled over one another in the tiny and cramped space.
"Susan, you're on my foot!"
"Peter, move off!"
"Stop shoving!"
"You're in the way, move!"
"Will you get off me?"
"Ow, you just hit me!"
"Move over!"
"Will you stop shoving?"
"My toe!"
"I'm not on your toe!"
Suddenly, everyone fell out of a wardrobe and onto a hard, wooden floor in an otherwise empty room.
They all looked at one another in shock. No time had passed since they had first entered the wardrobe in the Professor's house years ago, so they had now reverted back to their younger selves from that fateful day. It was quite jarring to suddenly lose over fifteen years of age all at once.
The door to the room unlatched and in walked the Professor. "Oh," he said as he noticed them all on the floor. "There you are." His eyes glimmered as he smiled. "What were you all doing in the wardrobe?"
The now-children looked at each other and smiled. How could they possibly ever answer such a question?
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you, sir," Peter said.
The Professor tossed him the cricket ball they had lost technically only minutes before and smiled knowingly. "Try me."
The children opened their mouths, all of them trying to figure out where on earth they should start.
That was when Elaine noticed something on her hand. "Peter. Look."
Peter and Elaine looked at their hands and saw that they were still wearing their Narnian wedding rings. They were the only things that had come back with them.
Elaine knew then that their time in Narnia was not over.